In light of information contained in the Motions for Summary Judgement filed by both sides in our continuing litigation with CBS Studios and Paramount Productions, we think it’s important to provide some information to our fans and backers to help put everything into context:
1) Alec Peters has put in approximately $ 150,000 of his own money into Axanar over the past year. He is currently paying the $ 15,000 a month it costs to keep the studio open, out of his own pocket, as he has been doing since this for the past 6 months.
2) Alec has not kept a single dollar from donor funds, either in salary, or expense reimbursements. Any money Alec received was paid back through the money he has been putting into Axanar. This means, Alec has worked full time on Axanar for over 2 1/2 years and not received a dime in salary, benefits or expense reimbursements.
3) Axanar now has an accountant who has taken all of the voluminous notes and records Alec and the team have kept and completed financial statements for the past 2 1/2 years. The financials will now be reviewed by our CPA/Tax accountant next week as she prepares our tax returns.
4) We have decided to create an Independent Financial Review Committee, a group of industry professionals and donors, to review the financials and report back to the entire donor base. We believe that the report from this committee will give donors the confidence that the Axanar team spent the donor money wisely and that Alec has not received any compensation or expense reimbursements.
5) Axanar has also retained a firm to prepare and manage our 501c3 filing, which should be filed shortly. They are currently waiting on a document back from the CA Secretary of State approving the change to our articles of incorporation and then they will file our application.
6) While Axanar has not made one dime off of renting out the studio, that is the intention of the Axanar team, as we hope to continue to be able to pay the rent. Every single dollar raised by renting out the studio (which we now call Industry Studios) will go towards producing Axanar.
With everything going on concerning the lawsuit and the amount of disinformation being spread by people whose intention is to see Alec Peters fail, embarrass those who worked with him and make it impossible to share our vision for the story of AXANAR with the tens of thousands who financially supported this project, we thought it was important to give you our side.
As to where things will go after the lawsuit, we think it would be unhelpful to speculate on too much. But Axanar Productions remains committed to addressing the copyright concerns of CBS Studios and Paramount Pictures Corporation in a way that allows us to tell the story of AXANAR our fans and donors have supported. Once this lawsuit is resolved, Axanar Productions’ team will meet and discuss what kinds of modifications need to be made so we can move forward with production.
Once the plan is set, we will share that news with all of you.
Until then, thank you for your on-going support.
We love Axanar! Keep up the great work!
This sounds very gloomy. It sounds like CBS/Paramount is determined to wreck Axanar/Peters using even the lowest smear campaign imaginable. Still hoping, though …
Hope u guys win. Cbs and paramount should just let this go and let fan films be made to enjoy just like star wars fan films are made. Guildlines kill fan films being made.
Thanks
This whole situation is such a shame it is such a disappointment.
CBS and paramount have really missed an opportunity here. CBS could’ve put a fan film section on their all access app that could have been away for the fan films to support the Star Trek franchise and revenue from advertising could’ve been shared between CBS paramount and fan film producers.
This could only of increased subscribers to CBS all access while at the same time allowing the fan films to Floreis in a way that creates a win-win for everyone. But as usual CVS in Paramount are shortsighted
Sorry for the type-os was dictating that while I was driving
all I can say is keep fighting the good fight ,
and we hope the rainbow will come out soon
Thanks Mike! …helps me keep hope alive! =)
…people whose intention it is to see Alec Peters fail, embarrass those who worked with him and make it impossible to share our vision for the story of AXANAR with the tens of thousands who financially supported this project…, I.E. “haters”…, suck. =(
I am an Axanar donor. I say this proudly. As a testament to my proven integrity and #honor, I submit, while active duty I was chosen to have trained the next generation of Sailors and leaders as part of the U.S. Navy’s top of the top 1%. I held the top most secrets of our great nation. Having done these things I am qualified to eval his publicly displayed character. Alec’s public actions have been transparent, in his transactions, and even put his own emotional misgivings in public. Only a person of character, that is secure in themselves, would do that. Though I have not had the pleasure of meeting Alec in person, I have not seen any public indications of subterfuge and deceit. To wit, and as always, #IstandwithAxanar.
This whole lawsuit is a joke I could understand if people were making money from axanar but to goto court over fans making stuff for other fans is just money grabbing if u ask me.
I agree. Why sue somebody for a fan work if they never intended to gain any profit from it? CBS/Paramount has become a group of Hippocrates. They are determined to bring the U.S.S. Ares down, as well as its Captain, Alec Peters. It’s like the very Federation is on the verge of collapse from within. However, I do know for a fact that they’ll think twice about firing on the Enterprise if it arrives as backup. So the ball is in their court. If I was Kirk, commanding the Enterprise, I’d tell them, “If you want to take out the Ares, you’ll have to come through me to do so.” Like Kirk, I don’t believe in no-win scenarios.
As always my fingers are cross that this all get resolved and a film can be made by those that love Star Trek and the fans that have supported you all this time
To hell with CBS.
The worst that Alec may have done is let his excitement catch the attention of those who recognized they couldn’t match the quality or the desire of the fans. While unfortunate, I have come to the conclusion we’ll never see the ‘ending’ of Axanar we all waited for, but I don’t hold Alec and his staff responsible – I blame the greedy execs at CBS. Also, in light of the “stop the lawsuit” order by J.J. Abrams, which turned out to be yet another steaming pile of B.S., I won’t contribute another penny to his efforts either.
Until these bozos get their act together, I’ll watch the hell out of bootleg copies out of anything CBS or Abrams puts out.
We are with you 100% on this. CBS is so blind to the damage they are doing with the fans. Trek is a “spirit” if you will. They are only damaging their own and they do not even seem to see it. CBS do not crush our spirit!
I think that Mr. Peters relied on friendship when he discussed his idea with CBS/Paramount. He may have very good intensions, but that mistake in believing that a friend, no matter how high up in the heirarchy; tends to backfire. I have had the same experience in the gaming industry. I would like to see this come to fruition, but it looks gloomy.
I remain confident that Axanar will be produced and this vision of Star Treks pre TOS will be a hit.
Has the movie been completed? if it has, I don’t suppose there is a risk of it being released on torrents?? Just thinking out loud.
The movie hasn’t even been shot yet.
Oops sorry, just excited after having watched the perfect trailer, shame about the greed and short-sightedness of the main studios.
CBS and Paramount as far as Im concerned have destroyed Star Trek. I still refuse to watch the last movie until it won’t cost me a dime (Regular TV) and for the first time in my life I actually don’t care at all about a new Star Trek series. In conclusion…..CBS and Paramount you both can go ***you know*** yourselves!!!!
I still stand with Axanar.now.till it is done.And beyond..
Got get!!! Love to see America is FINALLY waking up and noticing corporate overreach. Yes CORPORATE, not government, overreach.
Great release and well spoken! It is a symptom of our society, and the failure of the keepers of Trek, that the Trek community of people who are “committed” to Trek, have fractured and use any snippet of information to twist to whatever end they want. I have followed Axanar and Alec and Company since I stumbled across it in Kick Starter, and have never had any misgivings about the honor and Integrity of all concerned. I do, however, have concerns with a large corporation that has seemingly focused on one project to the exclusion of all else, in a drive to supposedly “secure” their death grip on the franchise and it’s history. The anger and frustration at seeing what was once a product I was dedicated to, owning and watching, and all the fan based materials that connected to it, seemingly shattered for what? None of this effort has enhanced Star Trek, shown it in good light, or made their producers any business I would associate with.I could have accepted a reasonable approach and discussion, and a clearly stated, supported case for their material, if they had made it. But this whole deal has just made Axanar the hero, and CBS the villain. Good job at CBS management for customer engagement!
[…] what kinds of modifications need to be made so we can move forward with production.” – Axanar’s Statement on request for summary […]
CBS and Paramount has spent years saying that the franchise can’t find an audience big enough to support a new series on television.
The explosion of fan based films and series online has proven to be the contrary. Now they want to take that away from the fans by putting ridiculous restrictions to destroy everyone but them.
This is the 50th anniversary year and its also the year that I say that I’ve had enough and will no longer contribute to lining the pockets of anything controlled by CBS and Paramount with regards to Star Trek products of any kind until they pull their heads out of their butts and loosen the restrictions on all fan based films.
It’s a real shame that so many fans like myself has to suffer through the corporate greed that may ruin the future of this historic franchise.
CBS and Paramount I emplore you to please consider the fans the have kept this franchise alive for the the last 50 years and guarantee it’s future for another 50 by restoring Gene Roddenberry’s vision and free ideas for generations to come.
If fan’s have funded production, just create and release the thing on some Chinese website and let CBS try and sue them for copyright infringement. The only issue here, and CBS have every right to protect it, would be if the intent was to profit and seek personal enrichment from this project. Since that isn’t the case, I’m sure most are quite capable on downloading a movie and burning it to a DVD, and there is very little CBS could do about it.
The thing about all this that really makes the lawsuit about Copyright seem wrong big time,
Is the fact that at the end of both the movies done by Axanar is a written clear load of text saying all characters etc. belong to cbs/paramount studios?
So why the copyright lawsuit?
If that is stated, then the cbs/paramount studios lot can’t say there’s a copyright problem?
Plus axanar productions got the permission from cbs/paramount to do these short films as long as the copyright notice
saying that all images & characters etc. belong to cbs/paramount studios!
I really can’t see how all this will help star trek,
It will put off fans seeing a company who claims to keep the dream alive that gene roddenburry wished to keep going
forever for the fans which have through their strong support and money kept it going for 50 years!
Cbs/paramount needs fan supporting star trek because without us there be no star trek?
Crap, checking back on this, I remembered I was planning on not giving them money for the new movie. Oh well, I got it on a Black Friday discount at least. So they didn’t get to much. On the plus side, at least the crew acted like real officers in this movie. People you could take seriously as officers. I got sick of watching them act like high school kids in the last two. And Kirk was the worst.